This message contains confidential information and is intended only for KHCA/KCAL membership. Dissemination, distribution or copying the contents of this email beyond this group is strictly prohibited. |
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CMS Makes Updates to the Nursing Home Compare Website and Five Star Quality Rating System
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released QSO Memo QSO-23-05-NH, which outlines how audits on erroneous Schizophrenia coding will impact Five-Star ratings. The memo also outlines how CMS displays citations under dispute on Nursing Home Compare but will not affect Five-Star until the disputes are resolved.
CMS to Select and Notify Facilities of Offsite Audits on Schizophrenia Coding
The quality measure for long-stay residents who are receiving antipsychotic drugs allows for an exclusion of any residents with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, Huntington’s disease, or Tourette syndrome. CMS is concerned that facilities are erroneously coding residents as having schizophrenia, to exclude residents from counting towards the metric. CMS plans to conduct offsite audits of schizophrenia coding and, based on the results, will adjust quality measure star ratings for facilities whose audits reveal inaccurate coding. This information is in line with the White House’s Fact Sheet, which states, “CMS will launch a new effort to identify problematic diagnoses and refocus efforts to continue to bring down the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications.”
If, during the audit, CMS finds inaccuracies in coding, specific to residents diagnosed with schizophrenia, the facility’s QM rating will be adjusted as follows:
- The overall QM and long stay QM ratings will be downgraded to one star for six months (this drops the facility’s overall star rating by one star).
- The short stay QM rating will be suppressed for six months.
- The long stay antipsychotic QM will be suppressed for 12 months.
If selected and contacted for an audit, facilities can forego the audit by admitting they have committed errors and committing to fix them. CMS will consider a lesser action related to star ratings if a facility foregoes an audit. Follow-up audits may be considered if CMS notes continued inaccuracies. Facilities are encouraged to begin working with the psychiatric providers now, and ensure appropriate diagnoses are given, and coded in the MDS.
Survey Deficiencies Under IDR/IIDR will be Posted on Nursing Home Compare but Not Impact Five-Star
Additionally, CMS plans to begin publishing survey information on Nursing Home Compare and the Quality Certification and Oversight Reports (QCOR) while facilities are still in the Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR) or Independent Informal Dispute Resolution (IIDR) process. CMS cites that this process can take up to 60 days for resolution, therefore the consumer is unaware of this information until after the process is complete. CMS also states that this will provide transparency to consumers, especially when deficiencies are identified as Immediate Jeopardy. While these citations will be publicly displayed, they will not be included in the facility’s star rating until the dispute is complete.
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2023 National Quality Award Application Deadline Next Week
Have you finalized and submitted your 2023 National Quality Award application? If not, be sure to do so before the deadline at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 26, 2023 to avoid any delays. READ MORE
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The KDADS CARE Team has updated their FAQs
Please see the updated FAQ on the new CARE upload tool. READ MORE
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KCAL District 5 Round Table- Friday, January 27, 2023 from 2:00 - 3:30PM in Wichita, KS
Assisted Living Round Table with KCAL Board Members Jennifer Scheck and Kasey Breidenthal and KHCA/KCAL President/CEO Linda MowBray. This includes ALL Assisted Livings, Home Plus and Residential Health Care Communities in District 5. (See image for counties included in this district.) You do not have to be a KCAL Member to attend.
Topics of Discussion:
- Information sharing about trends in our communities
- Kansas Legislative topics affecting AL Providers
- HCBS Final Rule Setting
- Additional participant led discussion
Location:
Alzheimer's Association
1820 E Douglas Ave.
Wichita, KS 67214
RSVP:
If you plan to attend this meeting, please RSVP to the KHCA/KCAL office by emailing Jennafer Sumner (jsumner@khca.org). Please indicate your name, what community you are with, and a phone number where you can be reached. Jennafer will then send you a calendar invite.
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Members Only Nurse Advisory Call – Friday, January 20, 2023 at 10:00 AM
Please join KHCA’s Nurse Advisory Committee President, Teresa Coover on this month’s Members Only NAC Call to discuss Quality Measures, Nursing Scholarships, hot topics, and the latest happenings.
Microsoft Teams Meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Meeting ID: 282 478 336 792
Passcode: LvX7Zj
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Members Only Facility Standards Call – Friday, January 20, 2023 at 11:00 AM
Join Linda Farrar - KHCA Consultant, Cynthia Pendleton - KHCA Facility Standards VP and Polly Berkley - VP of Operations and Education as they discuss the latest SNF survey findings.
Microsoft Teams Meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Meeting ID: 254 886 756 384
Passcode: SqKDBR
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Member Only Legislative Update from Friday, January 13, 2023
The 2023 Legislative Session has begun. We strive to keep you informed as much as possible. Click here to read Linda's member's only update from last Friday. We will also archive these on our website. They will require the member username and password to view on our website.
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White House Seeking Renewed Action To Improve COVID-19 Booster Uptake In Nursing Homes
Skilled Nursing News (1/13, Stulick) reported, "As the Biden administration becomes increasingly frustrated with lagging nursing home booster numbers, the White House seeks to take renewed action," according "to an article published by Politico on Thursday; redoubled efforts have been taken to send lists of senior facilities with zero people vaccinated – potential penalties and fines could be attached, according to the report." As part of the booster campaign, "the White House also released a Covid-19 Winter Preparedness Plan on Dec. 15, including a range of initiatives and partnerships with aging services organizations like...the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL)." The article added, "Operators that have participated in LeadingAge and AHCA/NCAL’s All Hands on Deck campaign – developed in response to the federal six-week initiative – have done marginally better with booster efforts, at least for resident uptake." AHCA said, "We remain focused on continuing our education efforts, combating misinformation and Covid fatigue, and partnering with [Biden] administration officials and other stakeholders to improve bivalent booster rates in nursing homes."
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CDC, FDA to Investigate Weak Signal for Stroke in Seniors with Pfizer Bivalent Vaccine
The CDC and FDA issued preliminary findings about monitoring the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine’s safety that discusses an initial increase of strokes in their safety monitoring data for the Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. As part of routine surveillance, the CDC detected a preliminary signal for stroke in people ages 65 and older who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent mRNA vaccine. However, this statistical signal is lower than the signals seen for other issues related to the vaccines. As a response to the signal, the CDC and FDA examined several large databases including:
- Medicare’s database of 5 million doses
- The Veterans’ Affairs’ database of millions of veterans
- Israel’s dose database
- Various European countries’ dose databases
To date, the aforementioned organizations have not seen an association or increased risk in stroke from vaccines in these databases. The totality of the data currently suggests that it is very unlikely that the initial signal represents a true clinical risk.
This announcement does not change AHCA/NCAL’s recommendation for residents to be vaccinated. Should a person have concerns, they may also request the Moderna bivalent vaccine which did not have an increased signal for strokes. READ MORE
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CMS Daily Digest Bulletin
- HHS Announces Key Dates for the First Year of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program
- NEW RESOURCE AVAILABLE: Third Edition QRP COVID-19 Public Reporting Tip Sheets
- You are Invited to a National Stakeholder Call with the CMS Administrator on January 24, 2023
- MLN Connects Newsletter: Jan 12, 2023
- Performance Period 2023 Eligible Clinician Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) Education and Outreach Webinar
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CMS Coverage Email Updates
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Understanding Medicare Webinars
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KMAP Web Update
The KMAP website has been updated with the General Bulletin 23004 regarding the annual attestation requirement.
A standard global message has been added to alert providers. A standard RA banner message will appear on those available the weeks of January 16 and 23. Let me know if you have any questions regarding these updates.
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National Stakeholder Call with the CMS Administrator on January 24, 2023
Please join the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and her leadership team, who will highlight CMS’ key 2022 accomplishments and look ahead to how our 2023 priorities will advance the CMS Strategic Plan. CMS serves the public as a trusted partner and steward dedicated to advancing health equity, expanding coverage, and improving health outcomes as we engage the communities we serve throughout the policymaking and implementation process. Our first National Stakeholder Call with the CMS Administrator in 2023 will provide an opportunity to learn more about how you can partner with us to help implement our Strategic Plan and key initiatives.
When: January 24, 2023 from 12:00 PM (CT) – 1:00 PM (CT)
Speakers:
- CMS Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure
- CMS Principal Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, Jon Blum
- CMS Leadership Team
Who should attend: National and local CMS stakeholders and partners
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the call. Please note that when you click the link to join the call on January 24, you will see a message stating that the host will allow you to join the event momentarily. Please continue to wait at that screen until the CMS team begins the call.
These national stakeholder calls will be held quarterly.
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MDS Workshop
This workshop has been specifically created for MDS Coordinators that have been in the MDS position for less than 5 years. It is also recommend for Administrators to attend to further understand the MDS process. This program also serves as a refresher for those who want to brush up to make sure they are up to date on the most current information. Seating is limited. Register early to assure you have a seat. Registration Includes: Two full days of in person training (Feb 7-8 in Olathe) AND two full days of Virtual Training (March 1 and March 8).
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Attention Assisted Living and Home Plus Providers: FCS Refresher
We have frequent requests for FCS refreshers and people who want to attend the FCS section only of the Operators course. We now have it available on demand in a 75 minute webinar. It’s worth 1.5 CE’s on demand.
$20 Member Discount Code: KHCA018
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Webinar: Mission Possible: SNF Department Head Briefing - Department Details for the DON
1/24/2023 1:30PM-2:30PM
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Webinar: 5-Star Work Plan A to Z: 5-Star Staffing Rating
1/25/2023 1:30PM-2:30PM
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MDS Workshop
Feb 7-8 in Olathe AND two full days of Virtual Training March 1 and March 8.
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Assisted Living Lunch and Learn: Survey Preparedness and Plans of Correction
2/10/2023 10:00AM-2:0PM
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Virtual Adult Care Home Operators Course
2/15/2023 9am 2/28/2023 3pm
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Looking for options for required Staff In-Service?
KHCA’s online learning platform is BACK! We’ve loaded the in-services for SNF and for AL first. The SNF in-service on Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation has been updated to reflect Phase 3 information.
Questions about education can be directed to Polly Berkley VP of Operations and Education.
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Mark Your Calendar for these 2023 Dates! |
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Kansas Health Care Association and the Kansas Center for Assisted Living
1100 SW Gage Blvd. | PO Box 4770 | Topeka, KS 66604
PH: 785-267-6003 FAX: 785-267-0833
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